Telecom and utilities news and perspectives

• Telecom technologies
• 3-GIS utilities solutions
• App modernization

Unilateral recap and recall construction

Editor’s note: Originally published by SSP Innovations under SSP SPANS. Updated by the 3-GIS Team with the current product name, 3-GIS | SPANS, and other revisions. 

Managing electric and communications infrastructure requires constant coordination between pole owners and attachers. In joint use workflows and transfer requests, both parties must exchange information, respond to proposals, and document the outcome.

Structured communication helps make that process consistent.

When proposals follow a defined workflow with standard responses and attached business processes, any user can enter the process midstream and quickly understand its status and history. This consistency also makes it easier for organizations to manage staffing changes and maintain continuity across projects.

• 3-GIS utilities solutions
• App modernization

How does real-time vs. packet-based incremental sync work in MIMS?

Editor’s note: Originally published by SSP Innovations under SSP MIMS. Updated by the 3-GIS Team with the current product name, 3-GIS | MIMS, and other revisions.

3-GIS | MIMS includes an alternative to real-time synchronization with ArcGIS Server for one-way feature services. This method, called packet-based synchronization, allows incremental updates to be managed and distributed by MIMS Gateway rather than handled directly by ArcGIS Server.

With this approach, changes to facility data are packaged into update packets that mobile clients download from the gateway. This reduces the number of requests sent directly to enterprise systems and improves synchronization performance when working with large datasets.

• Esri
• 3-GIS utilities solutions

Reflections on MIMS data synchronization

Editor’s note: Originally published by SSP Innovations under SSP MIMS. Updated by the 3-GIS Team with the current product name, 3-GIS | MIMS, and other revisions. 

Mobile technology has reshaped how utilities operate, and the ArcGIS platform has evolved alongside it to support mobile workflows. One of the most common GIS-enabled mobile applications in the utility sector is inspections. 

A brief history of the inspection process 

Early mobile inspection workflows were built on ArcGIS for Windows Mobile.¹ Utilities created configurable inspection forms that field technicians used to document the condition of gas distribution assets while working in the field.

• Fiber network industry and markets
• Broadband funding
• Press

Telecom industry pulse: February 2026 recap

Network news roundup

Fiber expansion, Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program approvals, AI-driven infrastructure investment, and upstream demand growth shaped February’s telecom news cycle.

Operators closed major acquisitions and expanded into new metro markets. US states moved closer to deploying BEAD funds. Data center operators secured long-term energy agreements to support rising AI workloads. Meanwhile, broadband usage trends showed upstream consumption continuing to climb.

• Fiber network management
• Fiber network industry and markets
• Communications service providers

Beyond the build: Why operational truth matters more than ever

At some point in almost every transformation conversation, someone will say, “We just need a digital twin”. It sounds like the right answer. It signals progress, modernisation, and ambition. Yet in practice, what usually follows is far less transformative; dashboards that look impressive but change little, pilot projects that never quite scale, and operational teams quietly returning to spreadsheets once real-world complexity sets in.

• Fiber network management
• GIS
• Communications service providers

Putting broadband customer experience in the fast lane

Today’s broadband customers expect more than just a fast, reliable connection. They expect flawless service experiences.

For operators, that makes customer experience (CX) the ultimate differentiator. Price and speed still matter, but loyalty is increasingly won, or lost, based on how smoothly you manage your network, how quickly you respond to problems, and how confidently customers feel you’ve got them covered.

• Fiber network industry and markets
• Broadband funding
• Press

Telecom industry pulse: January 2026 recap

Network news roundup

January reinforced a trend the industry has been circling for months. Fiber investment is still moving forward, but it is being shaped less by federal optimism and more by private capital, workforce realities, and regulatory tradeoffs. Local expansions continued city by city, global operators posted strong financial signals, and policymakers wrestled with how broadband, AI, and labor intersect in practice—not theory.

• 3-GIS utilities solutions
• GIS
• App modernization

How utilities are getting more out of the Esri Utility Network

Editor’s note: Originally published by SSP Innovations under SSP Productivity. Updated by the 3-GIS Team with the current product name, 3-GIS | Productivity, and other revisions.

The way utilities manage data today reflects more than a century of innovation shaped by the pursuit of customer service and safety. From handwritten notes on paper maps to advanced tools that calculate restoration times during outages, the methods have changed but the goals remain the same.